Bonding: Finding Treasure in a Dump
by PleaseDontTouchMyFries
Summary: On one otherwise uneventful night, Cole plops himself on a electric blue cushion in Jay's dump of a home. In a dump, you wouldn't expect to find any treasure, but there it is. Could the annoying redhead possibly be that treasure as the two, tired ninjas bond?


Author's Note: Hello, everyone! My name is Please, from Tumblr. This actually was originally on Tumblr, but I decided to edit the story a little bit and publish it on FanFiction for other BruiseShipping lovers to see. If this one-shot turns out successful, I might post more one-shots or make a story out of this!

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Inhale, exhale. Keep yourself calm and relaxed while you walk across Jay's dump of a home. Ignore the scent, and think of how strong you must be. There really is nothing to being stoic. It's the earth ninja's job. As he walked across the uneven and dirty grounds, he plopped against an old, electric blue cushion. "I hate blue," Cole bitterly thought to himself.

The earth ninja yawned, reflecting on the events of today. Was he really going to reciprocate Jay's uncalled for comments or would he graciously accept them? Was it blue wire or black wire? Was anybody else going to come for his team mates? All of these questions were begging for an answer. Well, he already knew about the first one.

It was stupid, yes, but Jay's remarks made him feel like a Kai who saw red. It made him feel that angry. That furious. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps. They weren't the slow, steady footsteps of either nindroids. Nor were they the heavy footsteps of a fellow hothead. So who was it?

Cole grimaced at the likely answer and titled his head at the shadow. It was rather hard to make out, but he swore the person yelped from pain. "Hello, you there?" he asked gruffly, narrowing his eyes. The earth ninja raised his left fist, hoping to know who it was.

The person ran up to him. He had guessed correctly, it was Jay. Jay looked… unlike himself. His usual smile was now a frown and the loose threads on his pale blue pajamas didn't help his current expression. The blue ninja put his arms into an akimbo, staring at Cole with his electric blue eyes.

"What?" Cole asked innocently, forcing a smile.

Jay sighed and rolled his eyes. He pointed to the blue cushion that the leader was reclining. Tapping his foot, he asked, "I dunno. Maybe it's the fact that you stole my favorite spot? Oh! How about my girlfriend? Eh bud?"

"Your favorite spot? Gosh, it's a dump!" Cole thought to himself. This had really made him smile, but he resisted the urge to tell this to Jay. Now, should he show his dominance and stay in this spot? Or should he find a new one? He bit his lower lip, musing on the possibilities.

A look of worry suddenly came on Jay's face and he plopped himself on the electric blue cushion. It was as comfortable as ever, despite being... Wait, what was it now? Like 10 years or so? For all he knew, it could be older than his dad. Jay giggled at the thought, thinking of somebody being older than his ancient old man. Save for Zane.

He then cursed his flighty mind. Cole was probably an insomniac and worried like heck. "Can't sleep at night either?" he asked in genuine concern.

"Nah. I got the team to worry about," Cole explained.

Jay looked at him, knowing that there was a story behind those dusty brown eyes. "C'mon Cole. It's Nya keeping you awake. It's the very same thing that kept me awake!" he coaxed. The teen brushed back a strand of his auburn hair behind his ear and eagerly waited for the earth ninja's response.

Cole knew Jay's emotions were like lightening. Swift and flighty. He could say something triggering and then blame you for responding. That's how people like Jay worked, and they were always the toughest to lead. Even tougher than Kai. "Unlike you, I have way more things to think about. Like orange Snogfruit Punch," he retorted.

"It was the only thing Cole could cook decently," Jay thought to himself, recalling the strong fruit drink with a slight hint of orange and cinnamon flavor. "You're half naked," he said suddenly.

What?! Cole looked down at his torso, seeing if he really was in a dream where he was half-naked. He shook his head and glared at Jay. "So I have to be modest during my sleep? My abs need the air, Jay. Air!" he joked. The earth ninja lunged at Jay, attempting to tickle him in his weak spot. The stomach. The weakest spot of anything to ever exist was always the stomach.

Resiiist. Resiiiist. Jay chuckled. No, he laughed. It was a genuine laugh that actually wasn't directed at Cole's expense. They were simply brothers, and who was Nya again? But still, his laugh had to be 1 million decibels. Nobody could laugh harder than Jay. He laughed so hard, tears were streaming down his freckled cheeks.

The lightening ninja simply tried to roll off the cushion, but Cole gripped him tightly. "OK. But what really is going on between you and Nya?" the redhead inquired. "I promise I won't overreact."

That cute face. Those curved corners of his tiny mouth. The bonding that they had together. If he was to tell Jay what he really thought, would he risk a friendship? "Iguessso. But you gotta tell me why I heard you yelp in pain and wake up in the middle of the night. That's my thing," Cole said, pointing to himself. Hopefully, this will have Jay go on a rant and tire himself out with a boring back story.

How was he going to explain why he yelped in pain? Cole would have thought him as a wuss for not handling the pain. Worse yet, Cole would say he's unstable and possibly shun him from the group. That kind of shame would follow him for years. "I hurt myself with an invention. I always got something to work on. And you?" he said, avoiding Cole's impenetrable gaze.

That couldn't have made sense. Sure, Jay was always driven to quickly finish an invention, but he was never the type to risk a good night's sleep, unless the world was at stake. Didn't he once say he always needed his beauty sleep? Cole quickly noticed Jay's left hand was casually covering his right wrist. Was it always like that? "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," Jay replied, casually revealed the palms of his heads. His eyes widened in realization when he quickly covered his right wrist. Nobody could see this. It would heal tomorrow.

Cole's eyes narrowed. Forget about Nya. What about that wrist? He has just seen what looked like a pretty deep cut. "You want Zane to take a look at that?"

Jay refused to believe that Zane would actually help. He did alleviate the symptoms of minor injuries, but his frosty friend would surely tell Cole about his wrist. If that were to happen, Cole would still think of him as an idiot. An idiot with a girlfriend he didn't deserve.

"Swiss army knife."

"You said invention. It all contradicts. So can you please tell me why? It's not like I have the stomach to exile you."

He was a mind reader, knowing his fear was like that. No, he was a good leader. "I felt so mad… I zapped myself when I slept. I. Ah. Usually zap myself awake during my sleep. No biggie." He put a hand on Cole's shoulder. Just in case he felt guilty, or was going to throw him into the garbage incinerator. What a thin lie.

Cole turned away, staring at the clear midnight sky. "If you're not really injured, I suppose that's alright." He then turned to Jay and smiled. "But look at yourself, you're a warrior now! And it's really brave of you to endure this almost all of your life," he said, attempting to cheer Jay up. He knew what really happened, and felt badly for the inventor.

Pity. It's not what Jay wanted Cole to feel, but he ignored his racing thoughts and pounding heart. "Yeah. I am brave, aren't I?" Jay asked, smiling. He lightly punched Cole on the shoulder. Eventually, they spent most of the night chatting away, slowly forgetting their doubts and worries. The two ninjas were brothers once more. Perhaps they became even more than that…

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Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! Please rate and review.


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